Raslway-rail joint



(No Model.)

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WITNESSES ATTORNEYS limiten rares armar rrncno AUGUSTINE V. YVRIGHT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

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:'PECIFICATICN forming part of Letters Patent No. 305,773, dated September 30, 1884,

A pplication flell March 8, 18S-1.4 (No model.)

To all who/l1, t may concern:

Be it known that I, AUGUsTrNE W. WRIGHT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have made a certain new and useful Invention in Railway-Rail Joints, of which I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specication.

My present invention has relation to the improvement oi' railway-rail joints, and in particular does it relate to that class of joints that are particularly applicable for use on the rails of street-railways.

In the construction of street-railways as at present commonly practiced, it is customary to lay the rails upon stringers, and to connect the abutting ends of the rails by means of chairs or splice-plates uponwhich the rail ends rest, and to which they are connected by spikes passing through the rails and chairs and embedded in the stringers. An objectionable feature of this construction is that the weight ofthe cars and traffic upon the rails has the effect, after a time, of loosening the spikes and packing down the fibers of the wooden stringers, and hence depressing their upper surface, so that the joint between the rails and the chairs becomes insecure, allowing the ends of the rails to lie unevenly and be pounded by the car-wheels and speedily worn out.

My present invention has for its object to provide an improved'joint for railway-rails by means of which the abutting ends of the rails shall be iirmlyheldto the chairs and to the stringers in such manner that, notwithstanding any slight depression in the surface of the stringers, or loosening of the bolts after long and severe usage, when the wood has begun to soften, the joint between the chair and the rail ends will remain firm, and the surface of the rail ends will be always in the same horizontal plane, and hence not subject to excessive wear.

To this end my invention consists in combining or joining the rails, the chairs or tieplates, and the stringers or other suitable supports by means of bolts which pass through slots or perforations in the rails and chairs, and

are suitably connected to the stringers, such bolts being provided with nuts which rmly clamp and hold the rails and chairs' together regardless of any possible loosening of the boltsinthe wood or irregularities of thestringers.

My invention also consists of certain details of construction to be hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in theelaims at the end of this specication.

Figure l is a view in side elevation.

Fig. 2 is a view in vertical transverse section.

A designates a stringer upon which rests the chair B, that supports the abutting ends of the rails C. These rails and chairs are provided with suitable perforations (elongated slightly to allow for expansion and contraction) through which pass the bolts D, that carry the nuts d. These nuts d, tting as they do over the threaded portion of the bolts, serve to clamp the rail ends and the chair iirmly together, and as they rest within seats in the upper surface of the stringer, and are preferably somewhat oblong, they are thus securely locked against accidental loosening. The threaded portions of the bolts D enter the stringer and hold the chair and rails securely in place thereon.

lt will be understood, however, that although I have shown the bolts with threaded portions for enteringthe stringer, they may be attached thereto in other suitable ways without departing from the spirit of my invention.

In laying the rails I cut seats in the stringers for the chairs, but am careful to cut the seatssuch depth only that the chairs willhold the portions of the rails immediately beyond them a very slight distance above-the surface of the stringers, as it will happen that after some use thechairs will sink into the stringers a sufficient distance to permit the rails to rest thereon.

It will be noticed that the ends of the rails are not above the central point of the chair, but that the larger part of the chair is beneath the farther ra-il with reference to the direction of travel. rIhis arrangement is made for the reason that the strain upon the end of that rail is greater than upon the other, and hence a broader support is desirable.

IOO

I am aware that it has been heretofore proposed to connect the rails and chairs by means of screw-bolts having jam-nuts thereon; but such bolts did not serve the purpose of retaining the rails on the stringers.

I am also aware that screw-bolts have been passed through rails and chairs and into the stringers, and have been furnished with nuts to prevent the withdrawal of the screws from the Wood'. Such constructions, however, do not accomplish the purpose of my invention, and I do not wish, therefore, to be understood as making any claim thereto.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. In a railway-rail ljoint, the combination, with the rails having their abutting ends of usual construction, the chair or tie-plate formed of a single piece of metal, and the stringer, of bolts passing through the rail and the chair, and provided with suitable connectionsfor holding them to the stringers, said bolts being furnished with nuts arranged to bear upon the chairs and clamp them to the 2 5' rails, substantially as described.

2. In a railway-rail joint, the combination, with the rails, 'the chair or tie-plate, and the stringer, of` bolts passing through the rails and chair, and having nuts arranged, substantially as described,to clamp them together, and having screw-threaded portions for enter-v ing the stringers, substantially as set forth.

3. In a railway-rail joint, the combination, with the rails, the chair, and the Stringer hav ing nutfseats in the top thereof, of the bolts having screw-threaded portions for entering the stringers, and having nuts arranged substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set hand this 5th day ot March, 1884.

AUGUSTINE WV. VRIGHT.

In presence of* Gno. I. FISHER, J r., H. E. Fos'rnn. 

